Mikael Niemi

Mikael Niemi ( born August 13, 1959 in Pajala ) is a Swedish writer. He is the author of two collections of poetry, a series of children 's books and some novels.

Niemi began writing poems and short stories at the age of about 15 years. His dream was to become a writer, but first he trained electrical engineer. His debut was the poetry collection: Näsblod under högmässan (on German nosebleeds in worship ). His previous work consisted of poetry, prose, plays and radio plays.

With his first novel, published in 2000 in Swedish, Niemi scored his big break: Popular Music from Vittula plays in the Swedish Pajala, the home of the author. Much inspiration draws Niemi here from our own experiences with bilingualism ( Swedish - Finnish) in the north- east of Sweden. The novel was for months the # 1 best-seller list, sold over a million copies and was translated into 24 languages. Popular Music from Vittula was filmed in 2004 with Göran Forsmark, Gustav Wiklund and Kati Outinen.

In 2004 he published his short story The hole in the rind, the German translation followed in 2006.

His 2006 Swedish novel "A Mannen som dog som en lax " ( German, 2008 " The man who died like a salmon " ) also plays in Pajala ( and Stockholm ). In contrast to his prose is in this book is a mystery novel. The basis of the plot, however, is also used here Niemi's favorite theme of bilingualism in the north- east of Sweden and the resulting conflicts. Niemi published in 2010 the novel Shoot the orange, which was published in German in 2011. The novel is about the problems of a closed 16 -year-old student who makes himself through his provocative behavior enemies at school, but also get to know friends.

Niemi has won many awards, including for his debut novel with the Swedish August Prize in 2000.